Managing Workforce Biggest Challenge For Pork Sector

Mar 30, 2020

Officials with Manitoba Pork have been busy dealing with the fallout from COVID-19.

Andrew Dickson is the organization's general manager.

"The issue here is how to manage the workforce and cope with all the potential for absenteeism, dealing with if people might get sick, having the appropriate distances in the workplace and that sort of thing. The other thing is a number of businesses have altered there business structure and how they deal with people. There's a lot of reorganization of the labour force."

Dickson says keeping Temporary Foreign Workers coming to Canada is extremely important to the pork sector.

"Our sector has always relied on foreign workers and we've been able to make the various programs work and we're very pleased that the federal government is trying to ensure that we have a supply of workers that can come in and do the work."

He notes so far, foreign workers have been able to overcome the scheduling and travel challenges associated with the COVID-19 crisis.

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Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.